Cortese Sun Interview

Entirely understandable. I felt a bit queasy myself. Ecco!

SAINT NICOLA'S GLORY DAYS
Nicola Cortese: I took Southampton from -10 points in League One… to top 10 in Premier League

By NEIL ASHTON
25th February 2017, 10:00 pm
Updated: 26th February 2017, 12:19 am

HE is the man who made the modern-day Southampton.
Nicola Cortese, airbrushed out of the club’s history after quitting in January 2014, will be cheering for them this afternoon.

Nicola Cortese was behind one of the most amazing rises that English football has seen in recent decades as struggling Southampton became a solid Prem club.
No bitterness, no regrets, no animosity. Just pride and satisfaction.
Saints became an established Premier League side under executive chairman Cortese, building one of the most respected academies in the country and a sparkling training centre that is the envy of their Premier League rivals.
Cortese, unquestionably, is behind the Southampton Way.
The Swiss-Italian, who will watch the EFL Cup final on TV, said: “I’m proud of what I achieved at Southampton.
“I left behind one of the most talented squads in the club’s history and a team managed by Mauricio Pochettino, who is one of the most exciting coaches in the world.
“We started in League One with minus ten points and we were a top-ten Premier League club by the time I left.
“On top of that, along with the value of the players they sold, the value of the club is a lot higher than it was when we took it out of administration in 2009.”

Cortese left the Saints four years after they won the JPT against Carlisle in 2010
Cortese was a controversial figure among supporters in his time at St Mary’s, with his challenging, demanding style putting a few noses out of joint along the way. It was a price he was prepared to pay for success.
Cortese, who was in charge when Saints won the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in 2010, said: “I think they respect what happened but maybe they did not always agree with the decisions.
“I was ruthless and driven and I had to change a lot of things in a short space of time. If you were not with me, then we had to go our separate ways.

A row with Katherina Liebherr led to Cortese quitting Saints after rich success
“But this is the complexity of being a director in football. Supporters and the media judge decisions immediately. I had to make decisions that benefited the club in the long term.”
By the time he left, Southampton had some of the most talented players in the country, with Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers and Adam Lallana all coming through the system during Cortese’s reign.
Others, such as Dejan Lovren, Jack Cork, Jason Puncheon and Rickie Lambert, were also sold on for massive profits. It is some legacy.

Defender Calum Chambers was one of the successes of the Southampton academy and went on to play for Arsenal and England
He changed the playing strip, making an alteration to wear a predominantly red kit because it is proven to be the most successful colour in sport.
Matthew Le Tissier, regarded by many as the club’s greatest player, sent his autobiography to Cortese and signed it “Best wishes, Matt”.
It took pride of place on a bookshelf in Cortese’s executive suite at St Mary’s.
Cortese, who left in January 2014 after a bitter boardroom dispute with owner Katharina Liebherr, always had the club’s best interests at heart.
He revealed: “When Southampton were promoted back to the Premier League in 2012, we didn’t go there just to fulfil the fixtures.

Luke Shaw was the most expensive teenager in the world when he swapped Saints for Man Utd for £31m – only Anthony Martial has been a more costly teen since.
“Traditionally, people had promoted teams down as relegation favourites but I was offended by that.
“These guys did not have a clue what we were trying to do here. I had a video that started with the words ‘It’s not if we can win the Premier League, but how’.”
Saints finished 14th in their first year back and ended the following season — the year Cortese left — eighth.
He added: “If you asked me now if I am proud, then yes. If you asked me at the time, I would have said we have achieved nothing yet.
“It is not easy to come from nowhere in League One to get to the Premier League. Not many have done it."
“Everything happened the way we planned it, I am very proud of what we left behind.”
Southampton’s hugely-respected academy is perhaps his greatest triumph.
Shaw and Chambers, both academy graduates, were sold by Les Reed for £43million just weeks after Pochettino had quit Saints for Tottenham. Cortese had planned for a production line to fill the first team with young players who grew up in the Southampton Way.
He said: “Winning a title is fantastic but when you do it with your own players — like Barcelona did with Joan Laporta in the Champions League final — with seven or eight from your own academy, that is the ultimate.
“We invested heavily — financially and emotionally — in the academy because we knew we would never be able to close the gap with the biggest clubs in the country because they are global brands."
“But we knew we could develop a Luke Shaw or a Calum Chambers.”
Cortese never quite got to see it all through, finally resigning following his series of run-ins with the Liebherr family.
He added: “I did not finish the job but I took a League One club just out of administration and in disarray and without a team, and left them when they were in the Premier League as a top-ten club.
“Turnover was £9m in League One and just under £110m by the time I left.
“I wish the club the best of luck in the final. Everything else is in the past. Katharina is in control now, it is her club.”
Even so, they could not have done it without Cortese.

 

Is this article his job application to our new owners?

 

He talked about having a lot of Academy players in the first team....this has proved hard for two reasons....we had to sell some of the best in our early years in the EPL and, now we don't have to, it is proving hard to get such players through. Stephens is an example....good player who needs to play regularly. He came through last season from necessity and, in the past in a lower league, would have kept his spot and continued his development. However, because we are top half EPL now, he has been displaced by Hoedt....and will find his chances limited unless injuries occur or he is played out of position. Matt Targett is another similar case....though part of his problem was injury. This is why we have had to farm out youngsters (which under Nicola we swore we wouldn't do). Not saying it is wrong..it is a fact of life...we have moved our position on this.

 

Might wanna check the date...


Oh and cheers TSS

 

True but he was on Jim Whites programme on talkSport last week too

 

Indeed he was! Don't know how I forgot about that already

 

When last week. Might be worth using the listen again facility.

Oh found this: https://talksport.com/football/list...e-reveals-how-philippe-coutinho-scouting-trip

 

k. liebheer is fit

 

Might need a few spin classes before you could say that.

Not that I'm anyone to talk.